There are passages in the Hebrew Scriptures that indicate the Messiah is Yahweh, God, coming to redeem His people. One such passage is found in the book of Isaiah:
“But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined… For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”
—Isaiah 9:1-2, 6-7
Isaiah says that a child is born who is also a Son that shall be called the Mighty God. Many Jewish rabbis believed that this passage refers to the Messiah, interpreting it as a Messianic prophecy.
- “The prophet saith to the house of David, ‘A child has been born to us, a son has been given to us; and he has taken the law upon himself to keep it, and his name has been called of old, Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, He who lives forever, the Anointed one (or Messiah), in whose days peace shall increase upon us.'”
—The Targum of Isaiah, J.F. Stenning, editor and translator [Oxford: Clarendon, 1949], p. 32 - “Another explanation: He said to him: ‘I have yet to raise up the Messiah,’ of whom it is written, ‘For a child is born to us’ (Isa. IX, 5).”
—Midrash Rabbah Deuteronomy, Rabbi Dr. H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, editors: Rev. Dr. J. Rabbinowitz, translator [London: Socino Press], I.20, p. 22 - “And why is he called Gabriel, a name made up of the words Gapri (‘My means whereby I prevail’) and ‘El (‘God’)? Because it is written of Judah For Judah prevailed (gabar) above his brethren (I Chron. 5:2), and it is also written of a scion of Judah And his name is called ‘Wonderful in counsel is God the Mighty (El Gibbor)’ (Isa. 9:5).”
—Pesikta Rabbati, William G. Braude, translator [New Haven: Yale University, 1968], Volume II, Piska 46.3, p. 793
The New Testament uses the language of Isaiah 9 in connection with the birth and mission of the Lord Jesus:
“Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ‘The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles–the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.’ From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
—Matthew 4:12-17
“And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ And Mary said to the angel, ‘How will this be, since I am a virgin?’ And the angel answered her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.’”
—Luke 1:30-35
Thus, Isaiah provides evidence both for God being a multi-personal Being and for the perfect Deity and humanity of the Messiah, that the Messiah would be both divine and human.
Not content with allowing the Scriptures to say what in fact they do say regarding God’s Triunity and the Messiah’s perfect Deity, anti-Trinitarian groups try to find anything they can to refute these biblical doctrines. These groups often appeal to the following passages to show that calling the Messiah the Mighty God doesn’t prove that he is Yahweh God in the flesh.
“The mighty chiefs (eley gibborim) shall speak of them, with their helpers, out of the midst of Sheol: ‘They have come down, they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’”
—Ezekiel 32:21
It is to be noted that the words “mighty chiefs” (eley gibborim) literally mean “gods of the mighty” or “mighty gods.” Some anti-Trinitarians assert that these men are in the very same category of “mighty ones” or “gods” that the Messiah is. Another place where a person is called “god” is in the following passage:
“I will give it into the hand of a mighty one (el) of the nations. He shall surely deal with it as its wickedness deserves. I have cast it out.”
—Ezekiel 31:11
Here, again, is a passage that identifies someone as a mighty one or a god without implying that the person is Yahweh God. The anti-Trinitarians, in appealing to these passages, think that they have found a way of refuting the doctrine of the Trinity and the perfect Deity of the Lord Jesus.
The aim of this paper is to address these passages and demonstrate that they do nothing to undermine the perfect Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, nor do they call into question the biblical basis for the Trinity.
First, even if we take for granted that there are other so-called mighty gods, this in no way undermines the fact that the Messiah is Yahweh God. The assumption here is that if the anti-Trinitarian can show that there are beings who are called mighty gods, then Jesus automatically falls within this same category. This is a non-sequitur, as there can be individuals who are called mighty gods without this making them Yahweh, and without this changing the fact that Jesus is the Yahweh God.
Second, these so-called mighty gods are the Gentile leaders and kings of the nations, as the surrounding context shows:
“In the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, wail over the multitude of Egypt, and send them down, her and the daughters of majestic nations, to the world below, to those who have gone down to the PIT: Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be laid to rest with the uncircumcised.’ They shall fall amid those who are slain by the sword. Egypt is delivered to the sword
The Fall of the Pretenders: When Kings Mistake Themselves for Gods
The Graveyard of Arrogance
The Scriptures are unambiguous: the rulers of the nations—no matter how mighty—are not gods. They are men. Mortal. Fallible. And ultimately, accountable.
Ezekiel 32 paints a haunting picture of Pharaoh’s descent into Sheol, joining the ranks of other fallen rulers. These “mighty ones” (giborim)—Assyria, Elam, Meshech-Tubal, Edom—are all laid low, stripped of their power, and buried among the uncircumcised. Their terror in the land of the living is replaced by shame in the land of the dead.
“They lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.”
—Ezekiel 32:30
Tyre’s Delusion of Divinity
Ezekiel 28 continues this theme with the prince of Tyre, who dares to claim divinity:
“You are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god.”
—Ezekiel 28:2
The rebuke is sharp. His wisdom and wealth have led him astray, and his fate is sealed—not as a deity, but as a man slain and cast into the pit.
Babylon’s Cosmic Fall
Isaiah 14 offers a poetic and chilling lament for the king of Babylon, who aspired to ascend above the stars of God:
“I will make myself like the Most High.”
—Isaiah 14:14
But instead of heavenly glory, he finds himself among maggots and worms. The kings of the nations mock him: “You too have become as weak as we!”
The Echo of “I Am”
Repeatedly, these rulers echo the divine phrase “I am, and there is no one besides me” (Isaiah 47:8; Zephaniah 2:15). But unlike Yahweh, their declarations are hollow. Their cities become desolate. Their names become warnings.
Reflection: Who Do We Worship?
This isn’t just ancient history. It’s a timeless warning. When power seduces, and pride blinds, even the greatest empires crumble. The Scriptures remind us that no human authority—no matter how exalted—can claim the throne of divinity.
Let us not be deceived by earthly grandeur. Let us remember who truly reigns.
God’s Judgment on Babylon and Assyria
God destroys the King of Babylon for thinking that he could be like God, and brings him down to the pit to be where the other heathen kings are. Elsewhere in Isaiah, Babylon is rebuked for claiming the prerogatives of Yahweh:
“… Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures, who sit securely, Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one besides me…’”
—Isaiah 47:8-10
Assyria was another nation which thought it was a god:
“And he will stretch out his hand against the north and destroy Assyria… What a desolation she has become…”
—Zephaniah 2:13-15
“Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out… Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?”
—Isaiah 36:13-20
“The Rabshakeh returned… Where is the king of Hamath…?”
—Isaiah 37:8-13
Hezekiah prays and God responds to the taunt of the Assyrian king:
“Hezekiah received the letter… And the angel of the LORD went out and struck down a hundred and eighty-five thousand…”
—Isaiah 37:14-20, 33-38
Hezekiah beseeches Yahweh to save his people from the Assyrians in order to show that he alone is God. Thus, as far as the biblical writers are concerned, there are no other gods which exist alongside Yahweh.
Irony in Ezekiel
In light of the foregoing, it is quite evident that Ezekiel 32:21 and 31:11 are not saying that these heathen rulers were actually gods. From the overall context of the Scriptures, we can safely conclude that these kings are called gods in irony—rulers wrongly considered divine who died shamefully like mortals.
The Monotheism of Isaiah and Jesus
To reiterate our point above regarding Yahweh being the only God there is, here are some verses from Isaiah:
“‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the LORD… Before me no god was formed…”
—Isaiah 43:10-11, 13
“Thus says the LORD… besides me there is no god…”
—Isaiah 44:6-8
“I am the LORD, and there is no other…”
—Isaiah 45:5-6
“Remember the former things of old… I am God, and there is none like me…”
—Isaiah 46:9-11
“See now that I, even I, AM, and there is no god beside me…”
—Deuteronomy 32:39
Recall that both the kings of Babylon and Assyria used the very same language to describe themselves. They were claiming to be gods in the same sense that Yahweh is God.
The Messiah as Mighty God
Now for Isaiah to call the Messiah the Mighty God in light of his explicit monotheism means that the prophet truly believed that the Messiah is Yahweh God. This becomes even more obvious in light of the fact that all the titles of the Messiah are used elsewhere by Isaiah in reference to Yahweh:
“For to us a child is born… Mighty God (El Gibbor)…”
—Isaiah 9:6
“A remnant will return… to the mighty God (El Gibbor).”
—Isaiah 10:20-21
“O LORD, you are my God… you have done wonderful things…”
—Isaiah 25:1
“This also comes from the LORD of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel…”
—Isaiah 28:29
The Divine Identity of the Messiah
“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace (shalom), and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.”
—Isaiah 45:7 KJV
“For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity (ad), whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’”
—Isaiah 57:15
“For you are our Father (ab), though Abraham does not know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father (ab), our Redeemer from of old is your name.”
—Isaiah 63:16
Hence, the Messiah is not a mighty god like the heathen kings, but is THE Mighty God in the same sense that Yahweh is—since he is Yahweh God incarnate. A careful examination of the entire context of Isaiah, as well as the overall context of the Scriptures, proves this beyond any reasonable doubt.
All Scripture citations taken from the English Standard Version (ESV), unless stated otherwise.
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